Alabama coach Anthony Grant knows Martin well. They played together at Miami Senior High School, and they later served together as assistant coaches there.

Grant says he talks to Martin sporadically, but that's a phone call that probably won't be made before the Crimson Tide (24-11) meets Colorado (24-13) at 8 p.m. CDT Tuesday in the NIT semifinals at Madison Square Garden in New York.

Another reason: Martin's Wildcats were 0-3 against the Buffaloes this season.

If Grant is looking for help scouting Colorado, he could turn to his own starting point guard. Freshman Trevor Releford knows one of the Buffaloes well. In fact, he knows Colorado's star.

That's Alec Burks, a 6-foot-6 sophomore guard. He and Releford are both from the Kansas City, Mo., area. Burks played at Grandview (Mo.) High School. Releford lived in Kansas City, Mo., but played at Bishop Miege High School in a Kansas suburb.

Burks and Releford played for five years on the same AAU team, but once they got to high school, they played on rival teams.

Are they friends?

"We're not enemies," Releford said. "I know him pretty well."

When they split, Releford played for Kansas City Pump N Run. Burks played for MoKan Elite.

"The competition was always good," Releford said. "It was like a rivalry all the time. We tried to beat each other. They beat us once. We beat them once."

Releford said he has not talked to Burks lately.

"I talk to him when he's back home and works out," Releford said. "I'm looking forward to playing against him."

Releford is a pure point guard who is averaging 11 points and a team-leading 3.4 assists per game. He scored a career-high 22 points Wednesday in a 79-64 quarterfinal victory over Miami.

"For a freshman to walk in and perform the way he has speaks volumes for the work that he's put in," Grant said. "He's been a guy who's been consistent in terms of his approach to the game, his coachability, his work ethic, those things. He's got a chance to have an outstanding future."

Burks is a combo guard who leads Colorado with 20.5 points and 2.9 assists per game.

"He can score in a variety of ways," Releford said. "He's a tough defender, too. He's going to bring it."

Burks was the 2009 Kansas City Star Metro Player of the Year. Releford earned that honor last year.

A year ago, Burks averaged 17.1 points per game and led the Buffaloes with 5.0 rebounds per game. He became the first Colorado freshman to surpass 500 points in a single-season (512).

Releford is one of only the four Alabama freshmen to start a season opener at point guard, joining Ennis Whatley (1982), Mo Williams (2002) and Ronald Steele (2005).

"I consider him an experienced guy right now," Grant said. "He's learned and grown with every game.

"This tournament brings a different challenge. This will be a brand-new experience for him as well as our other guys. Now the challenge is to handle the change in environment and what's at stake and perform."